Mannaea

Mannaea ( , sometimes written as Mannea; Akkadian: Mannai, Biblical Hebrew: Minni (מנּי)) was an ancient kingdom that flourished in northwestern Iran, primarily south and southeast of Lake Urmia, during the early first millennium BCE, roughly from the 10th to the 7th century BCE. It developed into a prominent regional power along the northeastern frontier of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, situated between major neighbors like Urartu and a constellation of smaller buffer states, such as Zikirta and Musasir. The capital of Mannaea was likely at Izirtu, near modern-day Saqqez. Mannaea played a key role in the shifting alliances between the Assyrian and Urartian empires, acting alternately as ally and adversary. Archaeological and textual evidence points to a complex society with fortified cities, regional governors, and a tributary economy. Although its exact ethno-linguistic identity remains uncertain, Assyrian sources suggest the Mannaeans spoke an unidentified language. Some scholars link it to the Hurro-Urartian family, while others, based on recent genetic evidence from Hasanlu Tepe, propose ties to Armenian or a distinct non-Indo-Iranian language. The kingdom ultimately declined under pressure from expanding Assyrian and Median influence, and by the late 7th century BCE, it was absorbed into the Median kingdom.…

Mannaea ( , sometimes written as Mannea; Akkadian: Mannai, Biblical Hebrew: Minni (מנּי)) was an ancient kingdom that flourished in northwestern Iran, primarily south and southeast of Lake Urmia, during the early first millennium BCE, roughly from the 10th to the 7th century BCE. It developed into a prominent regional power along the northeastern frontier of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, situated between major neighbors like Urartu and a constellation of smaller buffer states, such as Zikirta and Musasir. The capital of Mannaea was likely at Izirtu, near modern-day Saqqez. Mannaea played a key role in the shifting alliances between the Assyrian and Urartian empires, acting alternately as ally and adversary. Archaeological and textual evidence points to a complex society with fortified cities, regional governors, and a tributary economy. Although its exact ethno-linguistic identity remains uncertain, Assyrian sources suggest the Mannaeans spoke an unidentified language. Some scholars link it to the Hurro-Urartian family, while others, based on recent genetic evidence from Hasanlu Tepe, propose ties to Armenian or a distinct non-Indo-Iranian language. The kingdom ultimately declined under pressure from expanding Assyrian and Median influence, and by the late 7th century BCE, it was absorbed into the Median kingdom. Mannaea is occasionally referenced in classical and biblical sources under the name "Minni."

Location

Their kingdom was situated east and south of the Lake Urmia. Excavations that began in 1956 succeeded in uncovering Ziwiyeh and its branches the fortified city of Hasanlu, once thought to be a potential Mannaean site. The site of Qalaichi near the modern city of Bukan in West Azerbaijan Province has been linked to the Mannaeans based on a stela with this toponym found at the site. After suffering several defeats at the hands of both Scythians and Assyrians, the remnants of the Mannaean populace were absorbed by the Matieni and the area became known as Matiene. It was then annexed by the Medes in about 609 BC.

History

The Mannaean kingdom began to flourish around 850 BC. The Mannaeans were mainly a settled people, practicing irrigation and breeding cattle and horses. The capital was a fortified city called Izirtu (Zirta). By the 820s BC, Manneaea had expanded to become a large state. By this time they had a prominent aristocracy as a ruling class, which somewhat limited the power of the king. Beginning around 800 BC, the region became contested ground between Urartu, which built several forts on the territory of Mannaea, and Assyria. In the mid-8th century BC, during the open conflict between the Assyrians and the Urartians, Mannaea seized the opportunity to enlarge its holdings. The Mannaean kingdom reached the height of its power during the reign of Iranzu (c. 725–720 BC). In 716 BC, king Sargon II of Assyria moved against Mannaea, where the ruler of Mannaea, Aza, the son of Iranzu, had been deposed by Ullusunu with the help of the Urartians. Sargon took Izirtu, and stationed troops in Parsua (Parsua was distinct from Parsumash located further southeast in what is today known as Fars province in Iran.). The Assyrians thereafter used the area to breed, train and trade horses. According to one Assyrian inscription, the Cimmerians (Gimirru) originally went forth from their homeland of Gamir or Uishdish in "the midst of Mannai" around this time. The Cimmerians first appear in the annals in the year 714 BC, when they apparently helped the Assyrians to defeat Urartu. Urartu chose to submit to the Assyrians, and together the two defeated the Cimmerians and thus kept them out of the Fertile Crescent. The Cimmerians again rebelled against Sargon by 705 BC, and he was killed while driving them out. By 679 BC the Cimmierians migrated to the east and west of Mannaea. The Mannaeans are recorded as rebelling against Esarhaddon of Assyria in 676 BC, when they attempted to interrupt the horse trade between Assyria and its colony of Parsua. The Mannaean king Ahsheri, who ruled until the 650s BC, continued to enlarge the territory of Mannaea, although paying tribute to Assyria. However, Mannaea suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Assyrians around 660 BC, and subsequently an internal revolt broke out, continuing until Ahsheri's death. Also in the 7th century BC, Mannaea was defeated by the advancing Scythians, who had already raided Urartu and been repelled by the Assyrians. This defeat contributed to the further break-up of the Mannaean kingdom. Ahsheri's successor, Ualli, as an ally of Assyria, took the side of the Assyrians against the Medes (Madai), who were at this point still based to the east along the southwest shore of the Caspian Sea and revolting against Assyrian domination. The Medes subjugated by Assyria. However, the Neo-Assyrian Empire, which had dominated the region for three hundred years, began to unravel, consumed by civil war after the death of Ashurbanipal in 627 BC. The upheavals in Assyria allowed the Medes to free themselves from Assyrian vassalage and make themselves the major power in Iran. At the battle of Qablin in 616 BC, the Assyrian and Mannaean forces were defeated by Nabopolassar's troops. This defeat laid open the frontiers of Mannaea, which fell under the control of Media between 615 BC and 611 BC.

Archaeology

Key archaeological finds include a stele inscribed with an Aramaic text discovered at the archaeological cite of Qalaichi. The stele is dated to around 700 BCE. It is a fragment consisting of "most likely either a dedicatory or memorial inscription set up by the local ruler." The use of Aramaic, the lingua franca of the neighboring Assyrian Empire, suggests that Aramaic was prestigious among Mannaean elites around the time the stele was erected, but does not necessarily indicate wider adoption of Aramaic in Mannaea. The surviving fragment fails to record any personal names, but does record the names of the Urartian god Ḫaldi and the god Hadad from Ancient Semitic religion, as well as a place name rendered as Ztr. This place name was suggested by M. A. Lemaire to correspond to Zirta/Izirta.

See also

History of Iran Assyria Urartu Median kingdom Muracan

References

External links

Mannaean glazed bricks from Bukan

Text derived from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1378836753 under CC BY-SA 4.0; modifications have been made.